Woman has the right to stay at mother’s and mother-in-law’s house: cannot be thrown out because she is not liked by family members – Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday said that a woman has every right to stay at the house of her mother as well as her mother-in-law. So the court will not allow anyone to take him out. A vacation bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and BV Nagarathna made the observation.

The attitude of being thrown out of the in-laws is breaking the families
A vacation bench of Supreme Court Justices Ajay Rastogi and BV Nagarathna said, “This court cannot allow a woman to be thrown out of the house because you do not like her.” This attitude of ousting women from their in-laws because of some marital disputes is breaking families.

Justice Nagarathna said, “If she (woman) is accused of misbehavior, conditions may be laid down by the court for not harassing elders and family members in matrimonial homes.” However, the court said that if the woman is accused of misbehaving with the elders in the in-laws’ house, then the court can apply the rules on it.

How to reach the Supreme Court, the case of stay at home, out
Actually, this matter came to the Supreme Court after a woman and her husband ordered the Bombay High Court where the High Court had ordered the woman and her husband to vacate the father-in-law’s flat.

The woman and her husband were also directed to pay a monthly maintenance allowance of Rs 25,000 to the elderly couple. Following which she challenged the order of the Tribunal citing her right of residence under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act and filed a writ petition.

The woman challenged the matter in the Supreme Court
The High Court had ordered the son of elderly parents to make alternative accommodation arrangements for his wife and two children. But the maintenance order was withdrawn. The woman challenged the order of the High Court in the Supreme Court. The matter will be heard again in the Supreme Court this week and during the hearing the mother-in-law of the woman will be involved through video link.

The Supreme Court had given an important decision to protect the interests of women victims of domestic violence. The Court had given a comprehensive explanation of the right to live in a common house under the Domestic Violence Act. The court said in its judgment that a woman, whether she is a mother, daughter, sister, wife, mother-in-law, daughter-in-law or in domestic relations, has the right to live in a shared house.

Writing the 79-page judgment, Justice Nagarathna said, “A woman in a domestic relationship who is not a victim, in the sense that she has not been made a victim of domestic violence, has the right to live in a shared household.” Thus, in a domestic relationship a mother, daughter, sister, wife, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law or such other categories of women have the right to live in a common household.